Top Three Ways to Prevent Porch Piracy in 2019

The big holiday shopping season may be over, but as the number of people choosing to shop for almost anything online is still increasing everyday. And the chances are you (and your family) will do a lot more online ordering over the course of 2019 and why not? Shopping online is fast, convenient and you can often find a wider range of products than you can at the local stores (and even at the mall.)

However, the rise in popularity of online shopping has created a new opportunity crooks; the chance to take up a new career as a ‘porch pirate’.

Package theft statistics show how much of a problem this has become. According to one package theft survey, one-third of Americans have experienced package theft and over half of those polled know someone who has been the victim of package theft.

Despite the rise in the number of these kinds of thefts, there are some simple preventative measures you can implement to help prevent package theft. Use the following tips to keep your packages safe and delivered to the rightful owners, ie: you

Install Security Cameras

The single biggest thing you can do to prevent someone from stealing your packages is to install security cameras at your front door, or in your hallway, or driveway. Visible security cameras can help deter criminals from attempting to swipe your package as they will be captured by the camera.

Additionally, security cameras with a mobile app allow you to monitor your home on days when you are expecting a delivery. Your security camera will send an alert when it detects someone/something notifying you when the package was delivered. You may have seen some viral social media videos recently of people making use of that feature with some rather interesting results.

Some people might say that ‘fake’ security cameras would be just as effective, but that is not the case. Residential CCTV can be useful for more than just preventing porch piracy and the investment in a residential CCTV system can provide a great deal of peace of mind and is far more affordable than you might think.

Consider Making Use of Click and Collect

Click-and-collect is another easy way to protect your packages on your schedule. Many large retailers – including Walmart and Target – offer a click-and-collect option in which you can shop online and pick up in the store the same day or within 24 hours. Although this means you have to go to the store to pick up your order, stores are catering to this new consumer preference and making it quick and easy to run in and pick up your order. If you are an Amazon shopper they have even introduced Amazon Lockers, which are found in an increasing number of areas that allow you to pick up your goods from a secure locker making use of a special security code.

Ask the Neighbors For Help

This ‘old fashioned’ technique can still be effective if you have neighbors close by.  If you know your neighbor is home during the day you can ask them to hold your package once delivered until you get home. Before going on vacation, ask your neighbors to collect any mail and packages delivered as mail piled up is a clear sign to potential burglars no one is home making your home a viable target. Getting to know your neighbors can help keep your home and neighborhood safer as everyone will be looking out for each other and hey, it just makes life nicer in general too.

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Getting a New HDTV for Christmas? Why Considering Professional Installation is a Must

Are you planning on buying a new HDTV? Or isSanta bringing you one for Christmas? Any HDTV is still a pretty big investment and there are plenty of things to consider before you make that investment. Do you want plasma, LCD or projection screen? Flat or one of the new curved screens? What size will best suit the room that the new TV is going to ‘live’ in?

Once you’ve done your research and come up with the right answers, before you finally buy the TV that’s right for you there’s one more big thing to consider; should you have a professional install it for you?

TV Installation in the 21st Century

Just like televisions have evolved in leap sand bounds over the last few decades so have the complexities involved in actually getting them up and running. We’ve come a long way from the days when installing a new TV meant little more than plugging it in and spending an hour playing with the rabbit ears antenna to make sure you could pull in all the right stations.

These days to get your new baby going you may have to run cables through a wall, ensure that it is safely mounted (HDTVs are heavy) tweak a sophisticated sound system calibrate your television’s image quality and more.

Determining if you should hire a professional to install your TV depends on the complexity of the job and your confidence in your own DIY skills. You probably won’t need help physically installing it if your television is going to sit on a stand or in an entertainment center, or fit has a built-in base. But if you plan to mount a flat panel television on a wall you probably don’t want to leave that to chance.

Even if you’re confident that you can mount the television to the wall on your own – and be very you have to be very sure as a poorly mounted TV is a very expensive, and even very dangerous – an accident waiting to happen – you also have to think about the cabling.

How are you going to hide them? A wall filled with a maze of cables is far from attractive. Cables trailing all over the floor is both unsightly and a health hazard. And one look into the settings of any HDTV and you quickly realize that getting the right balance in terms of both sound and picture is going to be quite a challenge.

Before you pick an installation expert at random from a basic Google search, or whatever local directory you happen to prefer, you should take a little time to determine exactly what you are going to need from them. You’ll want to be sure that the professional will be able to handle the entire process.

We get that this might sound like a lot of work – and more of an expense than you might have banked on – just to get your new television up and running, but consider the risks of a poorly executed installation. Not only could you break your new, expensive television, but also you could damage your home in the process. It’s just better to invest in professional installation, let them so all the hard work while you get all the drinks and snacks ready for that first inaugural viewing once they’re done!

GIVE US A CALL 1-800-730-3468. We ensure you that we give a good quality service.

8K TV is (Almost) Here – But Do You Actually Need One?

The buzz was loud at tech shows all over the world this year; 8K TV is coming. This news, exciting as it is, induced groans from tech fans though. Why? Why in the world do we need 8K when it feels like 4K just became a thing? And is there even such a thing as 8K content to watch on these new generation TVs anyway? Read more